The Photographer's Boy

A set of antique photographic plates is the key to uncovering hidden truths of the Civil War, Great Depression, and 9/11 eras in this unflinching novel (Publishers Weekly). A teenage boy and his grandfather travel across America to attend that last great reunion of Civil War veterans at Gettysburg in 1938, where secrets and lies are revealed about the old mans past. Perhaps he was not the hero his grandson thought, but he still has a valuable treasure to reveal, which will shed intriguing light on the war and his part in it. Interweaving three periods of crisis in American historythe Civil War, the Depression, and 9/11The Photographers Boy explores the power of photography and journalism to inform or mislead; raises questions about love; and offers an unflinching but sympathetic, often touching, look at the comforting fictions people wrap themselves in to protect themselves from the cold of reality (Publishers Weekly).